James Hawthorne

{{About||the American physician and politician|James C. Hawthorne|other people|Jim Hawthorne (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''James Burns Hawthorne''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}} (27 March 1930 - 7 September 2006) was BBC Controller in Northern Ireland for 10 years from 1979 to 1989 and as such was the senior editorial figure in the organisation throughout a decade of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

==Early life and education== Hawthorne, one of identical twins was born on 27 March 1930 in Belfast, he was educated at the Methodist College Belfast and Queen's University Belfast. He began work in Belfast in 1951 as a maths teacher at Sullivan Upper School and joined BBC Northern Ireland as a radio producer in the Schools Department in 1960.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McHardy|first1=Anne|title=James Hawthorne|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/sep/21/northernireland.broadcasting|website=The Guardian|date=21 September 2006 |accessdate=31 July 2016}}</ref>

==Work with the BBC== He was deeply involved in the fight to preserve the editorial independence of the BBC in Northern Ireland after the so-called "Real Lives" controversy when Margaret Thatcher's cabinet called for a current affairs programme to be pulled from the schedule. Hawthorne's stance in standing up to government pressure, at no small cost to himself, makes him one of the most significant figures in the story of UK broadcasting in the latter half of the twentieth century. His background in education was apparent in his time as Controller of BBC Northern Ireland, where he expanded education and drama, and encouraged local dramatists to create work about Northern Ireland for international audiences. He also introduced Irish-language broadcasts, reversing a BBC Dominions Office ban from the 1930s on Gaelic broadcasting in the UK.

==Retirement and death== After his retirement he remained in Northern Ireland where he held the chair of the Community Relations Council, Health Promotion Agency, Prison Arts Foundation and instigator and mainstay of the Ulster History Circle.<ref name="EH">{{cite web | title=Ulster History Circle | url=http://www.ulsterhistory.co.uk/ | accessdate=12 July 2009}}</ref>

He died on 7 September 2006 after a short illness.<ref name="EH"/> BBC NI Controller Anna Carragher said she was deeply saddened by the death of Dr. Hawthorne who led the BBC in some of the most trying years of The Troubles. "He had an enormous dedication and commitment to the BBC."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5324532.stm Former Controller of BBC NI dies] BBC News, 7 September 2006. Accessed 7 June 2007.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}} *[https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1877103,00.html ''Guardian'' obituary for James Hawthorne]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawthorne, James}} Category:1930 births Category:2006 deaths Category:BBC people Category:Mass media people from Belfast Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Methodist College Belfast